The Ponui or Ponui Island Donkey is a breed and feral population of domestic donkey from Ponui Island, in the Hauraki Gulf off New Zealand. It is the only feral donkey in New Zealand. It may also be called the New Zealand Donkey.[3]: 42
 Donkeys on Ponui Island | |
| Conservation status |
|
|---|---|
| Other names |
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| Country of origin | New Zealand |
| Distribution | New Zealand |
| Standard | Donkey & Mule Society of New Zealand |
| Traits | |
| Height |
|
| Coat | light dun or chocolate, with darker dorsal stripe |
| |
History
editFrederick Chamberlin bought Ponui Island from the New Zealand government in 1854.[4] Donkeys were brought to the island together with other livestock from New South Wales, and a feral population established itself. The Ponui Island Donkey now has formal breed status,[5] and some are distributed in mainland New Zealand.[2] It is registered by the Donkey & Mule Society of New Zealand. The Ponui is listed as 'rare' by the Rare Breeds Conservation Society of New Zealand;[2] it is not among the New Zealand livestock breeds reported to the DAD-IS database of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.[6]
Characteristics
editThe Ponui donkey is docile and sturdy. It stands about 1 metre at the withers. It is usually light dun in colour, but may be chocolate; broken-coloured donkeys cannot be registered.[7]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
- ^ a b c Ponui Donkeys: A Rare Breed of New Zealand Origin. Rare Breeds Conservation Society of New Zealand. Accessed July 2014.
- ^ a b Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.
- ^ Chamberlin, Frederick, b. 1826: An account of my proceedings since my arrival in New Zealand in 1853, with a diary (catalogue entry). Auckland War Memorial Museum Library – Te Pataka Matapuna. Archived 14 July 2014.
- ^ Heaven: a jack and several jennys, catalogue entry for: Alex Stone (2013). Heaven: a jack and several jennys. Gulf News, 21 March 2013. p. 18. Library of New Zealand – Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa. Accessed July 2014.
- ^ New Zealand: Ass: Warning: No breeds found. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed July 2022.
- ^ Rules for the Ponui Island Donkey register. Donkey & Mule Society of New Zealand. Archived 14 July 2014.
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